A Guide to Choosing the Right Cross-Border Payment Solution for Growing Businesses
Going global is what every business to achieve, and this requires a robust cross-border payment for every growing business. With the advices of market experts, the market of cross border payment will boost from $190 trillion today to $290 trillion by around 2030. This clearly shows that having a profound global payment method is not more a business fancy term but an essential aspect.
Businesses struggles a lot in this. But fortunately, there are now digital-only money transfer platforms that specialize in digital money transfers to Nigeria and beyond. Driving down fees AND increasing speeds.
But with the range of available options in the market – Which one to select? To answer the same, we have brought this full-fledged guide, sharing the issues, associated factors, solutions and essential features to look for which ends on a cross-border payment method.
Table of Contents
- Why Cross-Border Payments are Critical to Growing Businesses
- Features to Look For
- Things to Consider Before Choosing a Provider
- Future-proofing your payment strategy
- Wrapping things up
Why Cross-Border Payments are Critical to Growing Businesses
If you only pay domestically… cross-border payments don’t seem like a priority.
Your business isn’t selling overseas or paying international employees. Why should digital money transfers matter?
Because they do.
Even if you don’t think your growing business interacts with foreign markets, it does… and will continue to do so. Big or small, domestic transactions will inevitably cross borders at some point.
- Maybe you’ve hired your first remote employee from overseas.
- Or signed a contract with an international supplier.
- Or started selling on a foreign marketplace.
Either way. When that day comes, you’ll wish you had a payment solution set up in advance.
Picking the right platform to power your international payments can save you thousands per year in fees. Allow you to accept more forms of payments from customers. Faster settlement times means improved cash flow.
Don’t wait until it’s too late.
Features to Look For
When auditing your current payment strategy (or not having one at all) there are a few non-negotiable features you should be looking for in a payments platform.
Transparent Pricing
Okay, this is kind of obvious, but hidden fees are no joke.
Make sure you’re working with a provider that shows you EXACTLY how much you’re paying for your international payments.
That means knowing…
- The real time exchange rate being applied
- Any fees (percentage or flat)
- The full cost before you confirm your transfer
Everything. Nothing should be “hidden”.
Providers shouldn’t mark up the exchange rate and make you ask how much it is. Nor should they have surprise “processing fees”. Everything should be out in the open so you can make informed decisions on where to send money.
Speed of Transfer
Cross border payments used to take 3-5 business days to arrive. On good days.
But technology has come a long way. This isn’t the year 2000.
The best money transfer platforms are now offering same day payments to most major destinations. Over 70 countries globally have fully implemented real-time payment schemes. Crossing borders in minutes, not days.
Speed of transfer should be a priority when selecting a provider.
Multi Currency Support
Growing businesses send money to more than one country.
If your provider doesn’t allow payments to multiple currencies or regions, it’s time to find one that does.
Having a single account to manage international payments, rather than multiple proprietary accounts for each country. Simplifies your business.
Compliance / Security
This is one most businesses don’t think about until it costs them a lot of money.
Cross-border payments are highly regulated. That’s why you’re having to find a solution in the first place.
Make sure your provider has the proper licenses to send money where you need to. Double check they’re working with top-tier security protocols and industry compliant software.
You don’t want to be responsible for storing customers PII (Personally Identifiable Information). Let the payment providers handle that for you.
Things to Consider Before Choosing a Provider
Now, after deciding to look for a cross border payment option for your growing business. Here are some important things to bring in consideration before ending with a provider –
1. Where will you be sending money?
Not all platforms support every country.
Check that all of the countries you need to send money to are covered by the service companies you have chosen. Providers will always be better at certain spots than others.
2. How much money will you be sending?
Does your provider have better pricing for higher volumes?
If you will be sending thousands of payments each month consider negotiating custom pricing. Many providers are willing to work with you on pricing if you hit certain thresholds.
3. Integrations
Can the payment platform integrate with your current accounting software? Or ERP system?
Integration can save you hours every month in manual data entry. Providers who offer smooth integration with programs like Quickbooks or modular APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) make it easier to support them or pair them directly with your life.
4. Customer support
Payments get stuck. A lot.
You need a provider that has real humans you can speak to. That means direct email support at minimum. Dedicated account managers are even better.
Don’t settle for chat bots sending you back and forth.
5. Scalability
Can your payment solution grow with your business?
The platform that works for your current transaction volumes might not work 6 months down the road. If you scale well make sure your payment solution can too.
Future-Proofing Your Payment Strategy
Cross border payments are constantly evolving.
What works for your company now might not be helpful later on. For this reason, it’s vital to make sure your payment plan is future-proof.
Here’s how.
Diversify your payment providers.
You should never put all your eggs in one basket. Bind your business to a single provider and you’re at their mercy. If they experience an outage, you do too. Prices increase? You get stuck.
Mitigate that risk by using multiple providers.
This doesn’t mean you need 15 accounts. But if you’re serious about growing your business you should have a preferred provider and an alternative just in case.
Secondly, stay informed on regulation changes.
Countries have different regulations, and they often change. Make sure you or your payment supplier are staying up-to-date on local policies that may affect your business.
Finally, look at how your payment platform handles technology.
The best providers out there are investing heavily in technologies to provide you faster payment rails, better APIs and overall more transparent pricing.
Stick with providers that fit future you, not just present you.
Wrapping Things Up
Cross-border payment is undoubtedly spread as an essential foundational set up for a business thriving in the global markets. Whether it’s a SaaS owner, freelancer or transporter, choosing a right cross-border payment method effectively future-proof your payments and supports growth of your business.
More and more businesses are adapting to it. Therefore, it is the right time to look for a cross border payment option to uplift your business scaling.
FAQs
- What is the most import aspect to look for while deciding the cross border payment solution?
The most important factor is to check the specific country for which you want to comply, as not all solutions supports every country. - Is this for small business too?
Scale of business doesn’t matter in global payments. You might build your complete customer base abroad.
Do I need customer support?
It depends on your business. But, customer support is essential as the payments for gets tucked. And customer support easily handles every such situation.